Narendra Modi on I-Day: Bullets or abuses won't help resolve Kashmir

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers his address during the country's 71st Independence Day celebrations, which marks the 70th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule, at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi on August 15, 2017. India can defend itself from anyone who seeks "to act against our country", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an Independence Day speech August 15 amid a tense standoff with Beijing over a Himalayan plateau. Pic/AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said bullets or abuses will not resolve the Kashmir issue and that it can be addressed by embracing every Kashmiri.

Addressing the nation on the 71st Independence Day from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort, he asserted that his government is committed to restoring the lost glory of Kashmir and its status as 'heaven on earth'.

"Na gaali se samasya sulajhne wali hai, na goli se, samasya suljhegi har Kashmiri ko gale lagane se (Kashmir probem cannot be resolved by either bullets or by abuses. It can be resolved by embracing all Kashmiris)," Modi said in his fourth Independence Day speech.

He said only a "handful of separatists" were resorting to different tactics to create problems in the state and asserted that there will be no soft approach towards terrorism.

The government is committed to make Kashmir a paradise once again, the prime minister asserted.

Not only the J&K government but the entire country is with the people of the state in helping them realise their dreams of development, Modi said.

During his hour-long address, the prime minister also declared that that violence in the name of faith was not acceptable and termed casteism and communalism as poison.

Referring to recent incidents of natural calamities in various parts of the country as also death of children at a state-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh, he said sympathies of the entire nation are with the affected families.

"Many parts of the country faced natural calamities in the recent past. Children died at a hospital. The entire nation is with them," Modi said. Noting that natural calamities become a big challenge, he said while good rains contribute to prosperity of the country, climate change creates problems.

Talking about national security, he said it is a priority and the country is capable of defending itself in all spheres.

India is capable of tackling any challenge in any frontier -- land, sea or the cyber space, the prime minister said against the backdrop of border standoff with China in Doklam.